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Whilst the queen is a third longer than the workers and a distinctive colour varying between tan leather and reddish, she can be hard to spot when surrounded by 50,000 of her progeny.

The Ligurian queen is placid and will normally continue moving from cell to cell on the brood frames, laying eggs, even while the beekeeper is searching for her.

Prior to laying an egg, she will measure the available space with her head to determine whether it is a drone cell or a worker cell, and then lay either an unfertilised or fertilised egg to match the cell.